Review and Comparison Guide: Modern Classic's Womb Chair
Inspired by: Eero Saarinen Womb Chair (Model 70)
Click image to enlarge.
- Our Exclusive High Performance Polyester Boucle Fabrics
- Available 16 Vibrant Fabric Colors and 8 Leather Colors
- Stainless Steel legs with adjustable foot glides
- Dimensions Best Match Signature model
- Exclusive: Powdercoating in 4 colors are available (for an extra charge)
- Customize with your own fabric or metal colors
| Our Item No. | MC-1310 |
| Base Price: Chair Only | $ 1,680 |
| Base Price: Chair + Ottoman | $ 2,260 |
| Overall Dimensions - Chair: | 40.5"w x 36"d x 35"h |
| Seat Height: | 17 inches |
| Seat Interior Dimensions: | 25"w x 20"d |
| Weight: | 40 pounds |
Summary Comparison: Modern Classics vs. Competition
Who makes the best Womb-inspired chair? To help you decide, we wrote this comparison guide to highlight 4 popular sellers of this iconic chair - the primary contenders if you will - so you can compare them detail for detail. Of course, while we may seem biased, we still feel this guide clearly demonstrates how our interpretation of the Model 70 Womb Chair and Ottoman is truly the best on the market.
Some Key Points to consider:
- We made our own fiberglass mold which closely matches the original brand;
- We sourced our own high-performance fabric from a North American mill which can only be found on our products;
- We closely adhere to the sewing details of the original brand such as perimeter piping and squared off removable cushions.
- We sourced the same feet used on the original brand;
- We assembly the components for this model in Bellingham WA; and
| Feature | Modern Classics | Design Within Reach | Rove Concepts | Interior Icons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base Price (Chair and Ottoman) | $ 2,260 | $ 5,516 | $ 1,145 | $ 799 |
| Upholstery Materials | ||||
| Chair Dimensions | ||||
| Chair Body | ||||
| Chair Frame | ||||
| Ottoman Details | ||||
| Custom Options |
Detailed Comparison: Modern Classics vs. Competition
UPHOLSTERY MATERIALS
Modern Classics
We offer 16 colors of textured boucle 100% polyester fabric made in USA, with the option of providing your own fabric for a minor surcharge. Our fabric is considered high performance with 250k double-rubs, highly resistant to piling or fading. Plus, it has a stainguard on it. We also offer our womb chair with our premium leather choices.
Design Within Reach
Offered in a wide range of colors and fabric grades, however, their signature Classic Boucle is a low performance wool/nylon blend not known for its long life. Knoll also offers the chair and ottoman in leather.
Rove Concepts
Offered in a very cheap fabric, a wool blend, that has no life span or stain protection. Will rapidly pil up. Unstable dye lots, so rarely can you get a complete set of chairs that look the same. Also offered in leather.
Interior Icons
Also offered in a very cheap fabric, a linen cotton blend, that has no life span. Unstable dye lots, so rarely can you get a complete set of chairs that look the same.
CHAIR DIMENSIONS
Modern Classics
Our chair dimensions were derived from original engineering - production drawings, and are the closest to the designer's original intent of the model. Our chair sitting position makes it comfortable for both sitting and lounging. The arms are parallel to the floor. From the overall size to the slope of the back, we think we have recaptured the chairs historical icon.
Design Within Reach
The chair sold at DWR is the Knoll brand chair. The dimensions seem to be the same mold throughout the lifetime of their manufacturing.
Rove Concepts
Frame dimensions are a very different than the Signature version, in that, the chair sits more angled back and the chair is not as wide.
Interior Icons
Frame dimensions are a very different than the Signature version, in that, the chair sits higher and does not closely resemble the Saarinen style chair at all.
CHAIR BODY
Modern Classics
Our chair shell is constructed of Fiber-reinforced polymer internal shell for greater strength than the other brands. Our shell is propriety and exclusive to our brand. The back is flexible, but sturdy. We use screw inserts that are epoxied in for a secure frame attachment. Our Womb chair is well sewn. We use a piping around the parameter of the chair and ottoman. The back pillow is not attached, which make it easy to move or adjust the back cushion to a sitter's back. We use high-resislent foam that is shaped for the original look of the chair and ottoman. This is a sleek look, not too puffy.
Design Within Reach
They say their chair shell is also fiberglass, but the one we reviewed was made of plastic, so who knows. Their shell is covered with high-resislent foam that is very puffy and no longer is sleekly-shaped like the original look of the chair and ottoman. The Knoll chair is well sewn. The parameter seams have a blind stitch piping. The back pillow is attached with clips, which make it difficult to move or adjust the back cushion to a sitter's back. There is a cavity in the mold for the back cushion, which we cover over with elastic, padding and fabric.
Rove Concepts
Their chair mold is dated from the early 1990s and while it might be made of fiberglass, it is still an inferior mold shape for the chair. The arms are angled, not flat. The back angle is too steep. Besides using really cheap fabric, the sewing details on this model is sub-standard. No blind stitch piping around the parameter of the chair or ottoman, etc. They most likely use highly resilient urethane foam, however, their cushions look super puffy and not the sleek modern effect originally conceived by the designer.
Interior Icons
Their chair mold is dated from the early 1990s and while it might be made of fiberglass, it is still an inferior mold shape for the chair. The arms are angled, not flat. The back angle is too steep. Besides using really cheap fabric, the sewing details on this model is sub-standard. No blind stitch piping around the parameter of the chair or ottoman, etc. They most likely use highly resilient urethane foam, however, their cushions look super puffy and not the sleek modern effect originally conceived by the designer.
CHAIR FRAME
Modern Classics
Our Frames are formed with No. 304 grade stainless steel rod and hand-polished to a mirror-like finish. By using higher grade #304 stainless steel we achieve a more natural appearance metal feature than plated chrome as well as a more environmentally safe steel compared to "plated chrome". Stainless steel is easy to maintain, inherently corrosive resistant and repairable by hand polishing offering a near life-time of trouble fee use. Besides the hand-polished look, we can make our frame with a powdercoated finish in 8 standard colors or customized to your perference, all with an upcharge. Our adjustable feet match the DWR version for a sleek look.
Design Within Reach
Their chair frame is chrome plated solid steel rod. The chrome plating process of metals has been noted as a generally unsafe manufacturing process for our an environmentally and when scratched or chipped, the steel will rust and it cannot be easily repaired. Also offered in black painted finish. And their feet are sleek and thin.
Rove Concepts
Rove uses solid stainless steel legs for their offering, but use a slightly larger tube radius than the signature version. Which seems odd.
Interior Icons
Interior Icons uses solid stainless steel legs for their offering, but the tubing is chrome plated and has a dull, milky finish.
OTTOMAN DETAILS
Modern Classics
The seat height of our ottoman is set at the perfect height to comfortable rest your legs on. All of the lower priced models of Womb ottomans have a significantly higher seat height. In addition, we choose to make our ottoman legs more closely match the original model from 1948, which has no bend in the legs near the end.
Design Within Reach
The seat height of the Knoll ottoman is set at the same height as the chair, which is good. However, Knoll choose to alter the shape of their ottoman legs more closely match chair, rather the retain the lines of the original design from 1948.
Rove Concepts
The seat height of the Rove Womb ottoman is significantly higher than the seat height of the chair. This goes along with the extreme racked back angle of their chair.
Interior Icons
The seat height of the Interior Icons ottoman is significantly higher than the seat height of the chair. This goes along with the extreme racked back angle of their chair, suitable more for an astronaut being launched into space, rather than sitting in your living room enjoy a good book.
CUSTOM OPTIONS
Modern Classics
We offer powder coating of the legs using one of our standard colors, or your own selection.
Design Within Reach
For a significant upcharge, Knoll will make a chair using your fabric or leather. They do offer alternate frame color such as black, no customs.
Rove Concepts
Rove Concepts does not offer custom modiifcations for their offering, in fabric, leg finish or anything.
Interior Icons
Interior Icons does not offer custom modiifcations for their offering, in fabric, leg finish or anything.
Available In Our Exclusive Boucle Fabric
We offer our own exclusive collection "boucle" textured fabric in an extensive collection of colors that are particularly suited for the mid-century modern furniture we make. This fabric and colors were custom made just for us, at a well-known North America mill. Made of 100% polyester, our boucle's are soft, durable (250K double rubs), stain and UV resistant. We have arranged these swatches in color groups below.
We are happy to mail you a physical piece of fabric so you can hold it in your hands. Click on any of these chair photos to see an enlarged view.
| Fabric Name: | Modern Boucle Fabric |
| Content: | 100% Post-Consumer recycled Polyester |
| Weight: | 22 oz/linear yard |
| Finish: | Greenshield™ (High Performance, Eco-friendly stain guard that beads liquids and easy to clean) |
| Abrasion Resistance: | 250,000 Double Rubs(ASTM D4157-13) |
| Crocking: | Wet: Class 5.0, Dry: Class 4.5 (AATCC 8) |
| Light Fastness: | Class 4.0 - 5.0 @ 40 hours (AATCC 16 3511) |
| Pilling Resistance: | Class 5.0 (ASTM D 3511) |
| Seam Slippage: | Warp: 79.5 lbs Fill: 133.0 lbs (ASTM D 4034) |
| Tensile Strength: | Warp: 177.0 lbs Fill: 234.0 lbs (ASTM D 5034) |
| Flammability: | Class 1 (CAL 117-2013) |
Other Metal Frame Color Choices
Besides the standard #304 Polished Stainless Steel frames shown above, we do our own in-house powder coating over the stainless steel frame. We offer 8 standard colors and there is a $100 extra charge for the custom leg finishing.
Click on any of these swatches to see an enlarged view.
Product Description
The Model 70 Chair, now known as the Womb Chair, was designed in 1948 by Eero Saarinen and is generally considered among the ten best mid-century modern furniture designs. Chairs from this era were known for their form, function and flamboyance. They were more comfortable than their Bauhaus modern predecessors, as they were essentially created for "lounging" -- a new activity for the 1950's.
In addition to comfort, the Womb Chair highlighted a new form of construction for chairs of the Mid-Century Modern decade, using molded fiberglass. The basic structure of the chair is the molded fiberglass shell (we use composite polymer now), covered in foam and bright colored upholstery fabrics, also known for this period.
Our version of the Saarinen Womb Chair (we don't like to use the word "replica") is made of molded fiber-reinforced internal shell, not a plastic shell, then covered with sculpted with North America sourced foam that conforms to the mold. We use solid stainless steel bars for the legs, not chrome plated steel, and have adjustable feet. With our own in-house powdercoating here in Bellingham, we can also powdercoat the legs in a variety of colors. But what really sets our version of the Womb Chair apart from the cheaper replicas on the market is our upholstery. We spent over 18 months searching for the right boucle fabric for our chairs. Going directly to a North American mill, we designed the perfect boucle for this chair. Made of 100% polyester made from recycled plastic, this fabric has a textured or boucle surface, is extremely durable (250K double rubs), is water and stain resistant and has environmentally green stain guard built into the material.
VIEW OUR OTHER PRODUCTS INSPIRED BY THIS DESIGNER
About Us
About Modern Classics Furniture
Here at Modern Classics Furniture, we focus tightly on manufacturing and selling furniture in the niche market known as Iconic Modern Classics Furniture. Here's why we are your top choice for Modern Classic Furniture:- Most of the products we sell are exclusive to our website.
- We offer a 3 year warranty
- We only make quality furniture using the best materials
- We offer wholesale and design trade prices - let us be your #1 source - sign up today!
Corporate Headquarters
3999 Hammer Drive
Bellingham, WA 98226
Curt Roth, President
360-733-6400
curt@modernclassics.com
Please call us if you have any questions at our company headquarters in Bellingham Washington. Call or Email, or you can use our contact us form, we will receive a text message.